The current invention relates to a method for brooding or growing poultry.
The applicant of the current invention over the years devised several improvements in systems and devices, climate chambers and/or incubators, for hatching egg and breeding or growing or rearing the hatched chicks.
It is for instance referred to patent application WO-02/39812 of applicant, relating to a method of controlling the temperature in a controlled climate chamber. In this application, applicant in general refers to eggs of 28 weeks old mother animals which are usually small, about 45-50 gr. In a climate-controlled hatching chamber, the flow of air around such small eggs would be different than the flow of air around larger eggs of for instance 70 gr. It is further stated that the embryos in these small eggs will be smaller and lighter than embryos in larger eggs. This, however, was already know in the art: U.S. Pat. No. 4,378,758 already indicates that such smaller embryos remain much smaller further on in the process. It was up to now therefore uneconomical to use these eggs for high volume production of broiler poultry. In fact, in the past it was found that most if not all of these specific chicks would die.
Patent application WO-04047527 of applicant relates to a method for cleaning an incubator, and a particular layout of such an incubator.
WO 2007/142511 relates to a method and device for the hatching of eggs. In this application, trays with eggs are pivoted during hatching.
Applicant even suggested, for instance in WO-2005/070198, to maintain hatched chicks in a climatized room for a longer period after hatching, in order to improve growth and in general the brooding of poikilothermic poultry. To that end, applicant devised a further improved climate chamber or incubator, disclosed in WO-2009/014422. That application relates to a heat exchanger, a climate chamber provided with the heat exchanger and use of a climate chamber. In particular, a large part of this latest filing is incorporated in this patent application.
The developments of the applicant of the current patent application have considerably improved chambers for hatching and for brooding poultry directly after hatching, the poikilothermic stage.
Applicant, in view of these considerable improvements of climate chambers and hatching climate chambers, have found further improvements in the breeding of poultry.